Sand
by Riah-chan
Summary: When part of you is gone, sometimes you have to go a long way to fill the holes. Companion story to 'Holes'. Spoilers for the end of the mangaanime.


Title: Sand  
Rating: PG-13  
Category: Angst/Romance  
Pairings: That would give away the secret!  
Summary: When part of you is gone, sometimes you have to go a long way to fill the holes. Companion story to 'Holes'. One of my rejected pairings for Loki-chan's pairings list challenge and also my Acceptance/Defiance fic for the end of the manga.  
Spoilers: Spoilers for the end of the manga.  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. I'm not making any money. Please don't sue.  
  
Yuugi sat next to an open window wrapped in a blanket to stave off the night chill. He was staring out at the distant sand dunes, drinking in their soft glow in the moonlight on his last night in the Ishtar house. His year as an exchange student was over. The next day, he would be boarding an airplane that would return him to a place that now seemed almost as foreign to him as Egypt had a year before.  
  
When he had contacted Isis during his application process, Yuugi was surprised at how quickly she agreed to have him live with them during his stay. Then, almost as if she had known the desire behind his travel, she offered to instruct him personally in various areas of Egyptian archeological study and history.  
  
His preparations happened so quickly that they were almost a blur. His friends were shocked at his sudden announcement of departure, especially so soon after they had returned home and were just settling back into their routines. Yuugi tried to help them understand that he did not want to return to his daily life quite yet. He had a need… a need to go and learn and just be somewhere that Atem had lived. Bakura seemed the most sympathetic and Jounouchi and Honda tried their best. It seemed to hit Anzu the hardest, which hurt Yuugi but didn't sway his determination as it once might have.  
  
When he arrived in Egypt, Malik and Rishid picked Yuugi up and brought him to their home. It was a bit outside of the city, near the edge of the desert. Yuugi would have to commute with Malik into town everyday to go to the high school he had been enrolled in. Each day, he would attend classes with an emphasis on current Egyptian culture and language then each night he would learn from at least one member of the Ishtar family about Ancient Egypt. Hieroglyphics, history, art, mythology, Yuugi devoured everything they could teach him. He even provided some interesting insights due to his time in Atem's memory. Yuugi had never been so studious in his life.  
  
He grew to enjoy spending time with Malik and Rishid. Malik always had some mini-adventure planned (usually involving motorcycles, sand dunes and sometimes that girl at school that never seemed to noticed when Malik was showing off for her) that he wanted to lead them on. Rishid's presence usually ensured that the "fun" wouldn't get out of hand. That was always interesting.  
  
But more than their presence, Yuugi found himself enjoying his time with Isis. Exposure to her in her native environment showed him how truly strong and unique an individual she was. The world she lived in was not one that welcomed strong, independent women, especially ones as young as she was. But, that was no deterrent for her. Isis glided through those around her with a confidence and grace that led even the most traditional of men to treat her with the respect they would the goddess she was named after. But through all of that, Yuugi could see the isolation that it also brought, for how many mortal men would approach a goddess in friendship. He knew she was truly happy to have her family back together but sometimes she seemed lonely. It was something that he had not been able to completely break through in the previous year.  
  
With her help, Yuugi was coming to understand the would that Atem had lived in. Through her and her family's friendship, along with the support from his friends at home, he was beginning to fill the hole that had been left in him when Atem had departed for the afterlife. It made him ready to go home but part of him truly wanted to stay.  
  
He was startled out of his musing as a slender hand touched his bare shoulder from behind. Yuugi turned to see Isis, like himself, naked except for a blanket, up from the bed that they had just lay in. Her long fingered hand toughed his face to guide his eyes back to hers as he tried to look away blushing as he remembered how she had come to visit him in his room earlier, after Malik and Rishid had left on their weekly "adventure", and the things that had happened after. Isis smiled at him as she let her hand caress his face and brought it back to hold the blanket around her.  
  
"Come back in a year."  
  
Yuugi's eyes widened in surprise. Isis continued to smile her inscrutable smile.  
  
"Finish your high school and begin your college and come back in a year for I still have many things o show you."  
  
Yuugi looked at her for a long moment, studying her exotically beautiful face, her eyes that seemed to hold the answers to all of his mysteries, before nodding. Isis nodded back before turning to retrieve her strewn clothing from the floor and leaving for her own room.  
  
Yuugi tightened the blanket around him and continued to look at the sand. Strangely enough, he felt okay.  
  
Tsuzuku…  
  
Author's Notes: Monday, March 15, 2004- Yay! I finished my 'Hamlet' essay so I got to type my story! I've had this, and the next chapter, in the back of my mind for the last two months, even before the end of the manga but I hadn't had time to write it. This fulfilled my challenge pairing of Foreshipping (Yuugi/Isis) for Loki-chan's challenge. I have absolutely no objectivity on this story either so I don't know if Yuugi is out of character (and I fear he is) so if he is, please give me advice on how I can improve. I hope this story doesn't suck but please honestly let me know what you think.  
  
Riah-chan …I implied that Yuugi had sex! I feel like such a pervert… 


End file.
